The missing piece to your skills gap puzzle
Published 06.23.2021
by Christopher Ray
Executive Director, Business Development
Apprenticeships are an excellent and sustainable training solution to skills gap issues.
One key element to their success is the robust construct, designed to comprehensively train participants in a given occupation. But can a multi-year program upskilling across numerous competencies be too much at times?
For many companies, the answer is yes, at least for some of their workforce. While most well-constructed apprenticeship programs are ideal solutions for employees in a given occupation, the need for cross-training often creates circumstances for individuals to train in some, but not all, of the skills woven into a full program.
Enter the concept of the modular apprenticeship. The idea is to take a large apprenticeship program and segment it into modules that focus on common topical areas. This allows for employees to benefit from the entire upskilling program if needed, or to focus time and effort only on the segments that apply to their areas of responsibility.
An innovation in apprenticeship delivery, modular apprenticeships expand the range of employees who can benefit from a single program. Employers are no longer forced to take an all-or-none approach to apprenticeship training, and both cost and time commitment are minimized by focusing on the skill development areas essential to each employee group’s needs. If customization is what you’ve been searching for, modularization may just be your “missing piece.”